Runyon Group's Platform Takes Shape in Culver City

The above image should be a very familiar to all passengers coming to and from the Expo Line's current Culver City terminus.  Nine months after breaking ground at the corner of Washington and National Boulevards, the Runyon Group is still roaring ahead with construction on their mixed-use development known as the Platform.  The Abramson Teiger-designed  project will feature an eclectic mixture of retail, restaurant and office space.

Steel framing is now in place for Boxcar, a four-story creative office building located at northeast corner of Washington Boulevard and Landmark Street.  Across the street, rebar and concrete is still rising for the Washington Arts Building, a five-story parking that will be structure obscured by murals on upper floors and commercial stalls at ground level.  Out of frame to the left, other buildings that will contain additional retail and restaurant establishments now rise above the the elevated Expo Line tracks.

A significant portion of the complex's commercial stalls have already been leased, with announced tenants including Aesop skin care, Blue Bottle Coffee and a signature restaurant from renowned New York chef Michael White.  As the Platform quickly moves to become a major destination for for shopping and dining, it becomes increasingly difficult to believe that this was still an abandoned car dealership less than one year ago.

Image credit: Abramson Teiger Architects

Concrete Rises for the Platform at Culver City

While foundation work for Access Culver City moves slower than molasses, the Runyon Group is making quick work of their mixed-use development across the street.  The Platform at Culver City broke ground in November 2013, and is slated to offer more than 80,000 square feet of high end retail, destination restaurants, and creative office space when complete.  Designed by Abramson Teiger Architects, the project entails several new buildings, in addition to the adaptive reuse of two existing low-rise structures.  In the upper right hand corner of the above image, we see the beginnings of the Washington Arts Building, a five-story edifice which will feature parking, art lofts and street level commercial space.  The dirt lot under excavation at center left will make way for Boxcar, a modular four-story office building above two signature restaurants.  Just south of Boxcar, the Landmark Repair Shop repurposes a former auto repair building into additional restaurant space.  Platform is rounded out by two additional buildings, located out of frame to the left, and a landscaped central courtyard known as the Conservatory.  A significantly larger development from Lowe Enterprises is also planned for the opposite side of Washington Boulevard, to be located on Culver City Station's current park-and-ride lot.

The Platform Has Shovels in the Ground

A year and a half after the Expo Line finally brought rail service back to the Westside, Culver City is up to its ears in transit oriented developments.  Earlier this week, heavy equipment and sidewalk scaffolding showed up at the abandoned used car dealership across the street from Culver City Station.  It looks like the Runyon Group's highly anticipated mixed-use complex, known as "The Platform," is finally starting construction.  The project, designed by Abramson Teiger Architects, will create ample retail, restaurant and office space just east of Downtown Culver City.  It should provide a nice complement to Access Culver City, which broke ground in October.

• The Platform (Runyon Group)
• Culver City's First Expo Mixed-User Comes With Public Plaza (Curbed LA)